


In The Zone

by kawaiikanai



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Killjoys, Angst, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, Death, Drugs, M/M, Smut, Songfic, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-03-21 03:40:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3676002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kawaiikanai/pseuds/kawaiikanai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Philip Lester AKA Ritalin Monster captures Dan, a BLI employee and uses him to get info on the whereabouts of The Girl for the Killjoys. Dan, having this ‘Monster’ poke holes in his steadfast trust in BLI, begins to doubt whether love and freewill is really that bad compared to how he’s been taught.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In The Zone

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Set during Danger Days album timeline, not the Killjoy comics. ‘Ritalin Monster’ is really Phil’s Killjoy name according to the generator. I used Philip (Ritalin) instead of Phil (Cellophane) because it just sounded better and could make a better storyline with it. I’ve taken some elements from videos and quoted a few lines from various DD songs.

Phil punches the buttons on his Vend-A-Hack device, the screen beeping and blinking as it does its job to break into the vending machine in the lobby of the hotel. He finally hears the sweet sound of metal on metal that tells him it’s dinner time; two cans of food depositing out of the bottom of the machine. He unplugs the device and stows it away in his pack, grabbing the cans and heading for the stairs.

He trudges up the eight flights, squashing two or three surveillance flies along the way. You can never be too careful. As his foot hits the landing to the eighth floor he can hear creaking and grunting, a sign that his captive is finally awake again.

He enters the room and the young man stops his struggling, giving him a cold stare as he flexes his hands, stiff and bruised from his restraints. Phil walks up to him, double checking the bandana around his wrist that binds him to the metal rungs at the top of the bed. “Hungry?” Phil asks cheerfully, holding up one of the cans but the man just looks away, bottom lip pouting and making him look even less threatening.

Phil shrugs, setting the can down on the dusty nightstand along with his blaster, the man eyeing both greedily. He opens the other can and tucks in, the taste not very pleasant but he knows it’ll at least be filling. The 118 degrees outside and having to carry this guy up all those stairs really wiped him of energy.

He looks over the man and the burn marks on his legs and arms from where he’d made little nicks and cuts with his laser blade. He was a tough one. Phil had prodded him for information off and on all day, getting tired of the yelling and searing smell and wandering around the hotel for a while before coming back and starting again. It was getting kind of boring and he didn’t really like doing this kind of work anyway, but he needed to get something out of him.

“Are you ever going to tell me your name at least?” Phil asks through a mouthful of food.

The young man tsks. “Why should I when you won’t tell me yours?”

“I told you; it’s Ritalin Monster.” That’s his desert name, anyway. No one’s called him by his birth name since his parents died, and no one ever will again. Now he’s Ritalin Monster, freelancer and ex-pill junkie. He’s known around for his eccentric personality but excellent skills; never failing a job.

That’s why the Killjoys asked him to do this. They knew they were being watched carefully, so they couldn’t act out on their own. Instead, Phil helped them set up a trap. All it took was Party Poison strolling right in front of a surveillance drone in Zone B and they all began to flock. Draculoids and Scarecrows, scouring the place for any more signs of the rebellious gang. Once they started to branch out more, Phil took the opportunity to catch one off guard, dragging him away at gunpoint and guiding him over the hill and to the old Hotel Oblivion; the Killjoy’s and Phil’s designated rendezvous point.

The poor guy couldn’t even make it that far in the heat before collapsing, gasping under his latex mask until Phil finally pulled it off. He was surprised to find it was a man only a few years younger than him; thinking he was older because of his height. Never the less, he still had to use him, so he ended up having to give him a piggy back ride the rest of the way.

It was a real shame when Phil had to mark up the man’s body, the laser blade cutting and cauterizing at the same time so he didn’t bleed out. He’d actually be very attractive, if only he wasn’t a damn Draculoid.

The man watches him intently, not portraying just how scared he really is. He has to try and get out of here and back to BLI before they realize he’s been gone too long. Anyone suspected of going rogue or spilling information about the industry to outsiders is immediately executed. Company policy.

He’s held on tight, enduring this bastard’s interrogating without saying little more than sarcastic comebacks. You aren’t really allowed to talk back to anyone in Battery City, so it’s nice to-

No, what’s wrong with him? He shouldn’t be thinking like that. Battery City keeps people safe from hooligans like this ‘Monster’. He should show respect to his employer for all they’ve done for him. They took him in after The Great Fire years ago, offering him a new home and means of income. He’s been with them ever since, working non-stop and never forgetting about the Killjoys and other rebels trying to ruin his and everyone’s safe haven. They’re nothing but reckless creatures, trying to corrupt the good people with their ‘love’ and ‘rock and roll’. Who needs it? All you need in life is a sleep pod and your daily dose of BLI drugs.

Which reminds him; he hasn’t taken his since yesterday, the morning before he was captured. No wonder he’s not thinking straight and feeling weird; the zone air must be getting to him without his legally required meds. “What’d you do with my pills?”

Phil smirks, lacing his fingers together. “What’s your name?”

“I told you, I’m not telling. Now, where are my pills?”

Phil chuckles, knowing where this kid’s coming from. He was hooked on the pills, too, long ago. They numbed his brain and straightened him out. He thought it was a good thing, until his parents got ghosted and he couldn’t afford them on his own. He wandered the streets of Battery, a beggar, until the Scarecrows chased him out of the city. He was a twitchy eyesore compared to the crisp white city and no longer belonged there. He ended up finding shelter in Motel Paradise, one of the many hideouts for the Killjoys and desert dwellers alike. They helped him out until his mind was clear of the damn medication; his thoughts left scattered but his own for the first time. They assured him that it was ok; he was fine without the pills and that they’d accept him anyway. He’d found his new home.

“How about info for info?” Phil really did want to know this guy’s name, if not for information than simply out of curiosity.

He sighs, staring at the smashed in TV across from him. “It’s Dan.” He could have lied, but doesn’t really see the point.

“See?” Phil pats Dan’s leg, Dan wincing as he touches one of his burns. “Was that so hard? It’s kind of a boring name compared to the usual names I hear like ‘Reactor’ and ‘Nova’ but I guess Draculoids aren’t known for their creativity.”

“Your turn, Monster.” Dan grumbles, almost emphasizing the meaning behind the name.

“Oh, yeah. I flushed them.” Phil kicks back in his chair, propping his feet up on the bed next to Dan.

Dan’s jaw drops. “You-“ He can feel the anger rising within him and he stops himself, backtracking and keeping calm. The zone air is getting to his head already, making him have unnecessary emotions like fear and now anger. “I needed those.”

Phil laughs. “No, you didn’t.” He stands up, reaching over and taping Dan’s temple. “They mess with your head, blocking off emotions and making you just another drone. They’re bad for you.”

“They keep us from being stupid. BLI keeps us alive and safe.”

“No, BLI keeps you numb, sedated to the beauty of the world. They want to use you for their own selfish reasons and those pills are how they bend you to their will.”

Dan shakes his head. “BLI ensures our future.”

“BLI ensures your future as they see fit. I’d rather make my own.” Phil turns and heads for the window, looking down at the desert below, the heat waves making the sand look alive. “Don’t you want to do whatever you want? Drive fast cars, listen to music, or even find love?”

“What’s the use of all that?” Cars and music don’t keep you alive or put food on your plate. And love? What even is love? It’s a useless emotion that causes pain and feuds and even wars. Love has no monetary value and only serves to waste your time when you could be getting the latest blaster upgrades or dream creating software for your sleep pod.

Phil’s eyes cast down to the floor. “It makes you feel alive.” His voice grows husky, serious compared to before and Dan’s eyes are drawn to him finally. His broad back covered with a thin, blue sleeved shirt and black vest, darned with multicolored patches and pins. His blaster holster is clipped to a white belt, hugging his hips set in black skinny jeans. The blaster itself, nicknamed ‘Stryker’ etched on the side and painted like the Union Jack, sits beside Dan on the nightstand, teasing him just out of his reach. So much blue, blue, blue, even this man’s eyes are blue, matching the sky outside but much colder.

Dan doesn’t need to hear any more of this nonsense. “I know I’m alive.”

“Yeah, but do you feel alive? You’re just a part of a big corporation; you’re not you.” He throws his hands up, “You’re not a self-aware person that expresses themselves or feels all of the wonderful emotions life has to offer.”

Dan turns his head, done with his preaching. He can think for himself if he wants to, he just doesn’t need to. BLI takes away all those hard life choices and does it for him. Sure, he may want to do something different sometimes, but he knows that if BLI wants him to do something it must be for the greater good. “If I needed to feel those things then BLI would let me; but they’re bad so they don’t.”

“You don’t have to believe what they say.” Phil almost shouts, getting frustrated with Dan’s stubbornness. He’s so completely brainwashed by BLI that he can’t see the truth. “Out of everything, love is definitely not bad for you. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

“I don’t see what’s so amazing about love. It causes pain and suffering for anyone involved.” Dan scoffs.

“Oh, it does.” The first person Phil met in the desert, Burn, made him feel the stings of love for the first time in his life. He was never sure if it was because they were the first person he could relate to or because of their remarkable laugh at his corny jokes that he started to slowly fall in love with them. He never got to find out; Burn getting shot down by a Scarecrow during a supply raid. “Love can lift you up to the heavens one minute and tear you down the next, but you know what? When you look at each other, I mean really look at each other, and you feel like everything else in the world can wait… it’s indescribable. You’re not just you anymore; it’s you and the person you love. Connected by invisible ties and you can’t do anything without them and you don’t want to because it leaves you empty. And when they touch you… Your soul is on fire. You want to be consumed by them and become a part of them. It’s liberating and constraining all at once but it’s so amazing and worth it and…” Phil’s voice cracks and he stops, taking a deep breath.

Dan is stunned into silence. He must be lying. What he just described sounds so… unreal. BLI taught that love made you do bad things and not be productive in the work environment; yet this ‘monster’ is describing love with such… passion. Passion Dan has never seen anywhere in Battery City. He feels a new emotion rising and settling not in his mind, but in his chest: confliction. “I-I’ve never felt such a thing or… been touched in such a way.”

“You’ve never made love?” Phil’s eyebrows raise, genuinely surprised that such a handsome guy has never had sex, but then remembering that he did come from Battery City. Sex was prohibited there just as much as love. Another ‘distraction’.

“Of course not.” Dan fidgets against his restraints, his fingers tingling from blood loss. “It’s illegal.”

“It’s not out here in the desert.” Phil smiles, crossing the room and sitting down on the bed, leaning so close to Dan that the smell of sand and musk overpowers him. “Out here you’re free to love whoever you want and do whatever you want. You should stay here.”

“What?” Dan can’t believe his ears. Abandon the sanctity of Battery for the harsh desert? Who would willingly do that?

“You should stay here. Become a Zoner and take control of your own life.”

BLI was in charge of setting up Dan for life, but… There’s a chance that if he returns now he might be executed for fraternizing with the enemy. There are so many people out here in the Zones that have survived just fine, though. It’s usually a quiet place until BLI sends its troops out to it, dusting people left and right no matter who they are. Even if it’s just for a little girl…

If BLI stayed in the city everything would be fine; but BLI constantly invades, trying to take the messiah girl and kill the Killjoys and anyone else in their way. They’re ruthless. If it weren’t for BLI…

Dan feels a tear roll down his face. It’s like he’s truly thinking for the first time. He looks back on all the past raids and bust he’s been on, following orders blinding and blasting anyone that wasn’t an employee. He tries desperately to remember their faces, but can’t; most covered by masks just like the Draculoids. It was so much easier to pull the trigger when you couldn’t see them looking back at you.

Dan’s lip quivers, trying to put together his thoughts but far too many coming together at once to process them all. The lump in his throat chokes him, gasping out a sob. “How?”

Phil’s face softens, the man that tortured Dan just yesterday now but a memory. He scoots closer, leaning over to wipe the tears off of the brunette’s face. “Run away with me.” He presses his lips to Dan’s, chapped but soft and fitting perfectly. Dan doesn’t know what to do at first, the action new to him but feeling somehow good. He lets his eyes close, the warm lips on his pressing gently but firm. Phil’s tongue grazes at Dan’s mouth and Dan instinctively parts his lips, tongue exploring and tasting sweetly sour.

Phil pulls away, Dan catching his breath, face flush. This man knows nothing of freedom, of love and what it’s like to be loved. If he did, he’d never go back to BLI again. He’d stay here, with Phil; someone to keep him company in the cold desert nights. “I can show you everything, Dan. I can make you feel everything you’ve missed. If only you’d want to.”

Dan can’t bring out the words, locked up so tight after them being covered by pills and politics. The cold masks that ordered him for years seem pointless now compared to the blue eyes staring at him now, asking him what he wants; not telling him.

Dan, taking a deep breath along with a leap of faith, nods.

Phil brings his legs up onto the bare bed, straddling Dan and moving his hands to the bottom of his shirt, pulling up and the touch sending tingles up Dan’s spine. How could something as simple as a touch create such a feeling? Dan doesn’t understand but wants to feel more. He wants to be touched everywhere and anywhere that will make that feeling happen again; the sense traveling low and heating his body.

Phil climbs down the bed, kissing Dan’s bare chest and stomach, making him shiver. His hands go to Dan’s pants, undoing the button and zipper before sliding them down his legs and tossing them to the floor.

Dan’s never been this exposed to anyone before, and knows there’s only more to take off. His eyes close, hands grasping desperately at the metal bars behind him as fingers tuck into the brim of his underwear, pulling them down. He can feel his half hard cock free and against his stomach and he feels dirty; the arousal he feels ‘wrong’ in the eyes of the law he knew. Even so, he’s at the mercy of this new experience, mind clouding as he feels hot breath on his skin.

Phil can’t help but love the look on Dan’s face, so innocent yet naturally lustful as he lets himself slowly give into his desires. Phil barely touches his tongue to Dan’s cock and he jerks, gasping before settling down again. Phil can’t help but let out a chuckle before continuing; trying again and this time licking a stripe from base to tip. Dan lets out a girlish moan and quickly tries to cover his face with his elbows. Phil continues his teasing, sucking lightly. Dan mewls, toes curling and blushing down to his chest.

After a particularly loud moan that makes Phil have to hold back a smile, he pulls off, licking around his fingers instead while giving Dan a breather. Dan looks spent already, chest fighting for air in the humidity. His hair is a mess of waves now, sticking to his forehead. Once wet enough, he pushes Dan’s legs up to his chest, placing his middle finger at Dan’s entrance. Slowly, he begins to push in, a startled expression appearing on Dan’s face along with confusion.

“W-What are you doing?” This feels too strange. Too foreign.

“Trust me.” Is all Phil says, moving his finger in and out as he pumps Dan’s erection with his other hand, trying to keep him calm. He knows this must all feel weird to Dan, but once he gets used to it, it’ll feel good. That’s how life is sometimes; having to take the bad with the good.

He inserts another finger and begins to spread them apart, Dan groaning and shaking his head. He doesn’t like this at all. He thought it was supposed to feel good. The man lied to him.

Phil unbuckles his belt and works the button on his pants all while pushing his fingers as deep as he can, trying to hit just the right spot to make Dan feel good. He pulls out his fingers to slip off his pants and shirt, sticky with sweat. He grabs Dan’s hip while lining up to his entrance, seeing the concern written all over his face.

Phil presses a kiss to Dan’s forehead as he pushes in, making a cry escape from Dan’s mouth. This man did lie to him; deceived him into thinking he could trust him. Just like BLI did. “I-t hurts.” He chokes out through clenched teeth.

“I know.” He felt bad but knew it’d feel good for Dan in just a moment, if only he’d bear with it. He keeps pushing in, pressing against Dan’s hot torso and moaning, his ass unbelievably tight. Once he’s in deep he waits, letting Dan adjust as he squirms under him, legs slightly wrapped around him. Dan pulls against his restraints and Phil reaches up, fingers fumbling at the knot in the bandana.

The bandana falls away from Dan’s wrists and his hand flies to the nightstand beside them, grabbing the blue blaster and quickly pressing it to the man’s head. “You lied to me.” He tortured and used him in his time of weakness and Dan fell for it all.

“I never lied to you.” Phil says calmly, eyes unwavering. “Things sometimes get worse before they get better.”

Phil draws out slowly, making Dan whimper and the burning inside dulls but is still there. He was lied to his entire life by BLI and he’s not letting it happen again. If one thing was certain, Dan does have to start fighting for his future, and that means learning to stand up for himself.

His grip on the gun tightens, finger grazing over the trigger but Phil presses in again, a little faster and aiming deeper. “S-sto- aah!” Dan jolts, a shock of pleasure bursting inside him. Phil pulls out and goes in again, sending another shockwave across his skin. Dan drops the blaster, it falling to the floor, and digs his nails into Phil’s back instead and he knows he’s found the right spot. He quickens his paces, Dan moaning and shamefully squeaking with every thrust to his prostate.

Dan’s brain can’t wrap around what’s happening. This feeling is tremendous; unlike anything he’s ever experienced, and this man is making it happen. This dirty desert wanderer, which his entire life he was taught was his enemy, is now making him feel extraordinary. He makes him feel real; important, and he never wants to stop. He wants to stay connected to this man and feel this bliss forever. “M-Monster-“

“Phil.” The man tells him, pausing to wrap his arm under Dan, holding tight. “It’s Phil.”

“Phil,” he moans, “don’t let go of me.” He’s never been held like this before, the warmth that Phil radiates and the sensation deep inside him the only real thing he can trust without a doubt. It’s physical and that’s all he’s ever really known is things with value; and this feeling is priceless.

Phil kisses him deeply and Dan kisses back, tongues twirling and Dan can’t think of anything he’s ever tasted better. Phil continues to pound in deep, Dan rocking with him and feeling the heat rise within him. With one more slam into Dan’s most sensitive spot, he comes undone, head thrown back and white cum shooting over his stomach. Phil soon follows, just a few more thrusts until he comes deep inside Dan, his forehead resting against Dan’s as he catches his breath.

“Phil.” Dan stares up at the gorgeous man holding him, “I’ll tell you everything I know about the BLI headquarters. That’s where they’re holding the girl.” He knew now that BLI capturing a helpless girl was wrong. He wanted to help save that poor girl and do the right thing for once; on his own accord.

Phil smiles sweetly before pulling out slowly and standing up. He leaves the room for a moment, making Dan worry that he may have said the wrong thing. Was this all for information? Had Phil done this to him so he’d cave? Dan sits up, heart pounding in his ears until Phil comes back, two sheets from presumably a linen cupboard down the hall and Dan lets out the breath he was holding. It’s going to take some time to learn to trust people again.

Phil cleans both of them up with a sheet, handing Dan his clothes but only putting on his underwear, the heat still prominent even though it’s almost night by now. Phil sits on the bed next to him, eyes focused and back to business and Dan begins to tell him all he knows of the layout of the headquarters. He thinks the most likely place the girl will be held is in the security room, right by the head of security’s side; so he tells him how to get there.

Once Phil’s done he goes to his radio, passing the info to the Killjoys who thank him and tell him to hold tight until morning. He shuts off the radio and comes back over to the bed, grabbing the other sheet and draping it over himself and Dan. Phil brushes the stray strands of hair off Dan’s sticky forehead, resting his hand on his cheek. “Thank you for helping us.”

“I feel like I can’t help enough since I’ve been on the opposite team until now.” He needs to make up for lost time. Lost days that could have been spent on himself and others, not on the company.

“So, does that mean you’ll stay with me?” Phil takes in the sight of Dan next to him, reminded of years ago when he’d spend nights in an abandoned factory with Burn; arms wrapped around them. This felt the same. They only just met yesterday but so much has happened and they’ve shared so much… He feels like he’s fallen in love all over again tonight.

Dan smiles for the first time and it takes Phil’s breath away, pulling Dan close and feeling lighter than ever, hoping that by tomorrow morning the Killjoys will have saved the girl from BLI and Dan will still be in his arms.

~

Dan wakes up, rubbing his eyes groggily and looking around the room for Phil. He spots him sitting in the window, head buried in his arms, resting on his knees. Dan gets up, pulling the sheet around him and walking over. “Phil?”

He doesn’t say anything. Dan comes a little closer and touches his shoulder, feeling Phil tense up but doesn’t brush him off. “Phil, what’s wrong?”

Phil looks up at him, eyebrows furrowed. “I just got word from Dr. Death Defying… He helped the Killjoys get the girl out of BLI safe, but…” His voice breaks, making him have to look away, “the Killjoys didn’t make it.”

Dan tightens his grip on Phil’s shoulder. “I… I’m sorry. I know they meant a lot to you. If I’d have known…”

“The girl was exactly where you said she’d be, but it didn’t take long for Korse and his troops to find them. In the end, they had to practically throw the girl into Dr. Death Defying’s van and take off.” Phil stands up, moving past Dan and picking his blaster off the floor. He looks down at it, wanting to go to BLI headquarters right now and ghost any employees he sees. He wants to make them pay for killing his heroes and taking away the rebel’s symbol for hope.

He looks over to Dan, light from the window casting through his sheets to show his slender form. He could so easily blast him away right now, an unarmed member of the Draculoids. He’s the one that told them exactly where to go that got themselves killed. Phil could take out his rage on Dan this very moment. He knows it’s useless, though. Dan sincerely tried to help, going against the organization that will now surely have him killed if ever found. Phil runs his fingers through his hair, broken and lost as to what to do next.

Phil feels a tug on his sleeve and turns towards Dan. “The Killjoys are gone and… I can’t call BLI home anymore. What are we going to do?”

Phil grabs Dan’s hand, lifting his chin to look into Dan’s eyes, just as scared and ignorant as he was when he was first cast into the zones. But Phil survived, all on his own until he met people willing to help him. Now Dan is looking up at him with the same desperate eyes, a child thrown into self-sustainment without a clue what to do.

“I’m your only hope of surviving,” Phil tells him, “and you’re my only hope of staying sane in this wasteland.”

Dan smiles, eyes brightening, trusting Phil to guide him and teach him the ways of the desert just like he can make up to Phil for all the wrong-doings that the corporation has made him do. “I think as long as we stick together, we can make it on our own.”


End file.
